Women’s Retreat is a Great Gift for Your Mom or Wife.
Every September, Covenant Pines undergoes a little bit of a makeover. Just a few weeks removed from the controlled chaos of youth camps in the summer, the staff and women’s committee get busy preparing for the biggest weekend of the year; Women’s Retreat.
We spare no expense and we leave no stone unturned. Every year it is our pleasure to treat the Women of Minnesota to 2.5 days of rest, play, worship, and fellowship. It has become a spiritual priority in many women’s lives. In the video below, Annette shares that there’s so much coming at her at home. The Covenant Pines Women’s Retreat offers her a chance to “just dwell.” Sonja, another woman in the video, loves the chance to get to know other women from her church. She says it’s rare to find extended, quality time with these friends.
There’s a lot on a mom’s plate. Like Annette said, moms deserve a chance to “just dwell.” Consider giving your mom (or wife) a weekend away. Dads, take the kids for a weekend and give your wife this time. She deserves it. The retreat is September 25-27. If you register now, you’ll get our early bird discount and give her this weekend for as little as $104.
If you want to know more about what to expect over the weekend, visit our Women’s Retreat page, look at pictures from last year’s retreat, or watch this video.
The ice is long gone, the birds are chirping, and the leaves are blooming. It’s time to dust off those cleats and sign up for the 20th annual Covenant Pines Golf tournament.
For 20 years we have hosted a Golf Tournament to raise money for camp scholarships. Each year more and more kids request financial support for attending camp. Our goal is to grow this fund so any child who desires to come to camp has the opportunity regardless of financial ability. We believe in the power of camp and we want everyone to be able to experience this place. This golf tournament has been a great way to increase our scholarship fund over the years. Hundreds of young people from all over the state have been able to experience the love of Christ at Covenant Pines because of our golfers. Last summer over 1,500 kids came to camp. We are expecting even more in 2015.
This year’s tournament will be held at Crystal Lake Golf Club on June 3rd. Please sign up by May 27th. Click here to register.
Another way to help raise these funds is to be a sponsor. Business sponsors play a key role in the success of the tournament. The sponsorship breakdown is listed below:
- $250 sponsor gets your sponsor name on a hole
- $500 gets your sponsor name and a free round of golf and cart
- $1,000 gets sponsors name on hole and two free rounds of golf and cart
Ask around at your church and local businesses and help us raise support. All donations are tax deductible. We are also looking for prizes to giveaway; Twins, Wild or Viking tickets, or golf prizes of any type. Golfers can get prizes for: lowest score, closest to the pin, longest drive, longest putt, and closest to the line. Contact Matt Braun if you would like to be a sponsor or if you have any prizes you are willing to donate.
Covenant Pines Day Camp is a ministry outreach that has existed since 2008. Over the years hundreds of children have been able to go to camp without ever leaving their zip code!
Day Camp is a great opportunity to give kids a camp experience without sending them up to Covenant Pines. It’s perfect for kids who aren’t quite ready to spend the night away from Mom and Dad. It’s also great for kids who have been to Covenant Pines, but are hungry for more!
Every summer we hire two Day Camp staff to plan and implement the Day Camp program at churches all over the Twin Cities. We are very excited to announce that Lina Swanson has been hired as the Day Camp Director and Katie Lunacek as the Day Camp Assistant.
The theme they have chosen is “Finding Fruit” and will focus on Galatians 5:22-23 and the Fruits of the Spirit. Learn more about our Day Camp team below!
On April 23rd, delegates from many of our Churches attended the Annual Meeting for Covenant Pines Ministries (CPM).
At the meeting, Director of Covenant Pines Bible Camp, Matt Braun, and Director of Adventurous Christians, Mike Nelson, both shared about this past year in ministry. Those in attendance enjoyed some Famous Dave’s while listening to testimonies of the power of these ministries from past campers and staff.
Board member, Geoff Woodbury, gave a brief overview of the financial reports for all of the ministries. When a delegate asked about the overall financial health of CPM, Geoff stated that all four ministries are in good health. Praise God for providing for these ministries year after year!
Mike Nelson, Director of Adventurous Christians (AC), shared what God has been doing this past year on the beautiful Gunflint Trail. The AC staff are very excited for the upcoming summer season. Mike encouraged member churches to take advantage of AC more often as either a retreat destination for relaxing in the winter, or a challenging canoe trip in the summer. To learn more about what’s going on at AC, read their most recent newsletter and follow them on Facebook.
Matt Braun, Director of Covenant Pines Bible Camp, also shared about the past year in ministry. Matt invited Marketing Director, Tate Randall, Program Director, Holly Larson, Guest Services Director, Angie Sampson, and Maintenance Director, Scott Shoemaker, to share with the group a prayer request and also what they’re excited about for the future of Covenant Pines. To keep in touch with Covenant Pines Bible Camp, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Toward the end of the meeting we all had to say goodbye to two of our Board Members. Geoff Woodbury and Sarah Swanson have served their terms faithfully. We are sad to see them go, but we’re certain that they will continue to serve these ministries in a less formal fashion. Because of these two vacancies and another unfilled spot on the Board, three new members were unanimously voted to join the team. We’re happy to welcome Latoya Taris-James, Herman Saul, and Bill Cranford to the Board of Directors.
If you’ve ever been to Covenant Pines, you’re familiar with the drive in. You take a right on 245th Place and drive down that beautiful road past a few mysterious houses that you think belong to camp staff.
Your first real glimpse of camp comes when the road curves left and you turn to face the Retreat Center. Our prayer for everyone of you is that this first view fills you with a sense of warmth and belonging.
That first view has changed a bit since camp’s founding in 1954. Guests in the very early days would have just seen a grassy hill. Campers in the 60s and 70s would have seen the Rec Hall on their left and the Dining Hall straight ahead. Folks from the early 80s and on have gazed upon the Retreat Center. But one thing that has been constant over the years is that same patch of grass that was there in 1954; what we now call Fireside Lawn.
This simple patch of grass has been trampled by joyful and excited campers for over 60 years. It has served as a central meeting space to give rules, start games, and perform skits. It’s patio has hosted countless games of foursquare. It’s deck has held up the weight of thousands of campers, anxious to buy candy from the Canteen. This place that we call Fireside Lawn has given us so much over the past 60 years that we feel it’s time to give it an upgrade.
For the past few years, Covenant Pines leadership has been tossing around the idea of building a new patio on that spot. Overtime that idea turned into a solid plan. Now that plan is in progress. Below you’ll see some blueprints designed by Jim Sirilla for the new patio. We’ve already started the creation of the patio by cutting down the large Oak Tree that was in front of Fireside Lounge and mapping out the placement of the patio. It may be hard to picture now, but the patio will be raised off the ground and have stairs that lead up to it from the ground level. There will be ample space for foursquare, fire pits, skits, or simply basking in the sun.
This new patio will be completed by the start of our youth camps this summer. We’re eagerly anticipating the new view our guests will have as they make that left turn into this amazing place. We hope that this change of scenery will only enhance the feeling of warmth and belonging that our friends have known for so many years.
Want to donate to this project? Click here and select “other.” Just specify in the comments that the donation is for “Fireside Patio.”
Check out the gallery below to see historical pictures that catalog the evolution of “Fireside Lawn.”